Apparatus for coating tube interiors



May 8, 1951 F. A. BOWEN APPARATUS FOR COATING TUBE INTERIORS 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 28, 1949 y 8, 1951 I F A. BOWEN 2,551,722

APPARATUS FOR COATING TUBE INTERIORS Filed July 28, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 if z 26 4a Z5 w J )F u u- I h wentoi FE4/VK 4 BOW 57V,

i6 ifamey Patented May 8, 1951 APPARATUS FOR COATING TUBE INTERIORS Frank A. Bowen, Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County, Pa., assignor to National Tube Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application July 28, 1949, Serial No. 107,293

8 Claims.

The present invention relates to an improved apparatus for coating the interior surfaces of tubes, poles, pipes and the like.

' Tubular steel poles, masts and the like are usually made up in sections of steel tubing or pipe. The diameters of the sections making up the pole or mast vary progressively from one end of the pole to the other, one end of one section being partially telescoped within the swaged end of the preceding section. The common steel pole used for supporting trolley wires, for example, is approximately 30 feet long and made up of three sections having progressively varied diameter sizes. As a protection against the corrosive elements of the weather, the inside surfaces of such poles are painted or otherwise coated. It is such painting and coating with which my invention is concerned. I propose an apparatus for painting tube interiors by means of a plurality of brushes mounted on a flexible rotatable shaft which is inserted and withdrawn from a tube bore by exterior conveyor means.

It is, accordingly, an object of my invention to provide an apparatus which will paint the interior surfaces of tubes and the like expeditiously and economically by projecting a rotatable shaft bearing brushes into the bore of the tube by means of a conveyor system.

The invention will be fully apparent from the following detailed disclosure and the appended claims when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a plan view;

Figure 2 is a side elevation;

Figure 3 is an enlarged side elevation with parts broken away for clearness; and

Figure 4 is a View taken on the line IV-IV of Figure 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawings,

reference numeral 2 indicates generally a supporting framework made up of paired vertical supporting posts 2 ali ned in parallel relationship. A pair of horizontal angle members supported by the supporting posts 4 forms a guideway for a double conveyor. Another pair of horizontal angle members 3 is disposed beneath and adjacent angle members 8. A pair of rails 9 is laid on the angle members 8 to provide a trackway extending from one end of the supporting framework to the other.

A bracket member i9 is mounted on each of the paired vertical posts *2 located at one end of the supporting framework. A similar bracket l 2 is mounted on the two supporting posts located at the opposite end of the framework 2. A bearof the conveyor chains.

. 2 ing I4 is mounted on each of the brackets H). A shaft I 6 .is rotatably mounted between the brackets lii'with its ends supported in the bearings M. A pair of sprocket wheels I3 is mounted on shaft 16 for rotation therewith. A bearing 20 is provided on each of the brackets 12 for supporting the ends of a rotatable shaft 22 which extends between the brackets. A pair of sheave Wheels 24 is provided on the shaft 22 for rotation therewith. A pair of link conveyor chains 26 is mounted for travel on the guideways formed by the angle members 6. The forward links of the conveyor chains are adapted to engage the sprockets of the sprocket wheels i 8. Cables 28 are attached to the ends of the conveyor chains and extend therefrom to the other end of the supporting framework 2 where they are strung around the sheave wheels 24. The cables extend from the sheaves to the rearward end of a car or carriage 39 which is mounted for travel on the trackway formed by the rails 9. The rear ends of conveyor chains 26 are connected to the front end of car 30. This arrangement permits the car 30 to travel along with the upper flights Supporting plates 3 are attached to and extend transversely between laterally opposite links of the conveyor chains 26, thus unifying the paired conveyors to form a single upper flight. A notched wooden bearing block 36 is mounted on each of the supporting plates 34. A rotatable shaft 38 rests along its length in the notches of the bearing blocks 36 on the upper flight of the conveyor.

A motor til, which is carried by car 30, is connected to the end of shaft 38 for the rotation thereof. A plurality of brushes 42 is mounted at spaced intervals along the length of shaft 38 for rotation therewith. The brushes can be of one-piece construction that slides over the end of the shaft and locks in place. or they can be of two-piece construction which is mounted on the shaft by being clamped therearound. Either of these two types is satisfactory. It will be noted that the brushes are of progressively greater diameter from the free end of the shaft to the other. These varied diameters are neces sary for accommodating the varied diameters of the tubular sections making up the pole S to be painted.

A reversible motor 44 is provided at one end of the supporting framework 2 for driving the conveyor chains. Reversible motor it drives a sprocket =35 through a conventional speed reducer d8. Sprocket (it drives another sprocket 58 by means of an endless chain 52. Sprocket 50 is keyed to shaft 22; therefore, sheaves 24 are also driven by the rotation of sprocket 46. As sheave wheels 24 revolve, the conveyor chains 26 move around sprocket wheels i8 and the car 38, which carries motor 40, is moved along the trackway formed by the rails 9. Movement of the conveyors to the right, as viewed in Figure 3, projects the shaft 38 forward in the direction of the workpiece to be painted.

A cable 54 is suspended above the supporting framework 2 and runs parallel therewith. Cable 55 and attached pulleys 56 provide means for carrying the power supply line 58 attached to motor 43 as it travels forward, as best shown in Figure 2.

In operation, the pole S is prepared for painting by being placed on a table 60 with its small end raised to give it an inclination of approximately A quantity of paint sufficient to cover its interior surfaces is poured into the raised end of the pole and allowed to flow to the opposite end. The pole is then lowered so that its axis is parallel to the table top. In this position the pole is ready to be painted. Reversible motor 44 is then started to move the conveyor chain 26 in the forward direction. As the conveyor chain 28 travels forward it advances the shaft 38 to the open end of the pole where a workman guides it into the bore of the pole. As the conveyor chain 26 travels around sprocket wheel E8, the bearing blocks 35 are carried downwardly away from their supporting position under shaft 38 as it progresses into the bore of the pole. After the shaft 38 has been partially inserted into pole S, motor 40 is started to rotate the shaft and the brushes mounted thereon. The rotation of the shaft 3-8 is continued as it is advanced into the pole. After the shaft has been fully inserted, motor 44 is reversed so that the conveyor chains 26 are made to travel in the opposite direction to retract the rotating shaft 38. As the shaft 38 is advanced and retracted the rotating brushes spread the paint evenly and uniformly on the interior surfaces of the pole.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for coating the interior surfaces of tubes and the like comprising supporting means, a pair of spaced rotatable sheaves n1ount ed on said supporting means, an endless conveyor carried on said sheaves, reversible means for driving one of said sheaves and said conveyor, a plurality of aligned bearings on said conveyor, a rotatable shaft resting in said bearings on the upper flight of'said conveyor, a plurality of circular brushes spaced along the length of said shaft to rotate therewith, and means for rotating and supporting said shaft, said last named means being connected to said conveyor for movement therewith, movement of said conveyor projecting or retracting said shaft for inserting or withdrawing said brushes from the interior of a tube, and rotation of said shaft rotating said brushes for spreading a coating in the interior of the tube.

2. Apparatus for coating the interior surfaces of a telescopic tube and the like comprising supporting means, a pair of spaced rotatable sheaves mounted on said supporting means, an endless conveyor carried on said sheaves, reversible'means for driving one of said sheaves and said conveyor, a plurality of aligned bearings on said conveyor, a rotatable shaft resting in said bearings on the upper flight of said conveyor, a plurality of circular brushes spaced along the length of said shaft to rotate therewith, the diameters of said brushes being varied to fit within the several diameters of the telescopic tube, and means for rotating and supporting said shaft, said last named means being connected to said conveyor for movement therewith, movement of said conveyor projecting or retracting said shaft for inserting or withdrawing said brushes from the interior of a telescopic tube, and rotation of said shaft rotating said brushes for spreading a coating in the interior of the tube.

3. Apparatus for coating the interior surfaces of tubes and the like comprising supporting means, a horizontal conveyor guideway mounted on said supporting means, a horizontal trackway disposed beneath said guideway, rotatable sheave wheels mounted on said supporting means adjacent the ends of said guideway, an endless conveyor carried on said sheave wheels, reversible means for driving one of said sheave wheels and said conveyor, the upper flight of said conveyor being adapted to move on said guideway, a car mounted on said trackway for travel along with the conveyor, means connecting the car to the conveyor for movement therewith, a plurality of aligned bearings mounted on said conveyor, a rotatable shaft resting in said bearings on the upper flight of said conveyor, means on said car for rotating said shaft, said means being connected to'one end of said shaft, and a plurality of circular brushes spaced along the length of said shaft to rotate therewith, movement of said conveyor projecting or retracting said shaft for inserting or withdrawing said brushes from the interior of a tube, and rotation of said shaft rotating said brushes for spreading a coating in the interior of the tube,

4. Apparatus for coating the interior surfaces of tubes and the like comprising supporting means, horizontal beams supported in parallel relation on said supporting means, a horizontal trackway disposed beneath said beams, rotatable sheave wheels mounted on said supporting means adjacent the ends of said beams, a conveyor carried by said sheave wheels, reversible means for driving one of said sheave wheels and said conveyor, the upper flight of said conveyor being adapted to move on said horizontal beams, a car mounted for travel on said trackway, the ends of said conveyor being connected to the ends of said car, supporting bearings mounted on the upper flight of said conveyor, a rotatable shaft resting in said bearings, means on said car for rotating said shaft, said means being connected to one end of said shaft, and a plurality of circular brushes spaced along the length of said shaft to rotate therewith, movement of said conveyor projecting or retracting said shaft for inserting or withdrawing said brushes from the interior of a tube, and rotation of said shaft rotating said brushes for spreading a coating in the interior of the tube.

5. Apparatus for coating the interior surfaces of tubes and the like comprising supporting means, a pair of guideways mounted in parallel relation on said supporting means, a horizontal trackway beneath said guideways, a sprocket wheel rotatably mounted on said supporting means at one end of each of said guideways, sheave wheels rotatably mounted on said supporting means at the opposite end of each of the guideways, a link conveyor chain carried by the sprocket wheel and sheave wheel adjacent each guideway, reversible means for driving said sheave wheels and said conveyor chains, the upper flights of each of said conveyor chains being adapted to move on one of said guideways, a car mounted on said trackway for travel along with said conveyor chains, means connecting the car to the conveyor for movement therewith, a plurality of aligned supporting plates attached to H and extending transversely between selected pairs of laterally opposite links of said conveyor chains, a bearing mounted on each of said supporting plates, a rotatable shaft resting in said bearings on the upper flights of said conveyor chains, means carried by said car for rotating said shaft, said means being connected to one end of said shaft, and a plurality of circular brushes spaced along the length of said shaft to rotate therewith, movement of said conveyor chains pro- J'ecting or retracting said shaft for inserting or withdrawing said brushes from the interior of a tube, and rotation of said shaft rotating said brushes for spreading a coating in the interior of the tube.

6. Apparatus for coating the interior surfaces of a telescopic tube and the like comprising supporting means, a pair of guideways mounted in parallel relation on said supporting means, a horizontal trackway beneath said guideways, a sprocket wheel rotatably mounted on said supporting means at one end of each of said guideways, sheave wheels rotatably mounted on said supporting means at the opposite end of each of the guideways, a link conveyor chain carried by the sprocket wheel and sheave wheel adjacent each guideway, reversible means for driving said sheave wheels and said conveyor chains, the upper flights of each of said conveyor chains being adapted to move on one of said guideways, a car mounted on said trackway for travel along with said conveyor chains, means connecting the car to the conveyor for movement therewith, a plurality of aligned supporting plates attached to and extending transversely between selected pairs of laterally opposite links of said conveyor chains, a bearing mounted on each of said supporting plates, a rotatable shaft resting in said bearings on the upper flights of said conveyor chains, means carried by said car for rotating said shaft, said means being connected to one end of said shaft, and a plurality of circular brushes spaced along the length of said shaft to rotate therewith, the diameters of said brushes being varied to fit within the several diameters of the telescopic tube, movement of said conveyor chains projecting or retracting said shaft for inserting or withdrawing said brushes from the interior of a telescopic tube, and rotation of said shaft rotating said brushes for spreading a coating in the interior of the tube.

'7. Apparatus for coating the interior surfaces of tubes and the like comprising supporting means, a pair of guideways mounted in parallel relation on said supporting means, a horizontal trackway beneath said guideways, a sprocket wheel rotatably mounted on said supporting means at one end of each of said guideways, sheave wheels rotatably mounted on said supporting means at the opposite end of each of the guideways, a link conveyor chain carried by the sprocket wheel and sheave wheel adjacent each guideway, reversible means for driving said wheels and said conveyor chains, the upper flights of each of conveyor chains being adapted to move on one of said guideways, a car mounted for travel on said trackway, the ends of said conveyor chains being connected to the ends of said car, a plurality of aligned supporting plates attached to and extending transversely between selected pairs of laterally opposite links of said conveyor chains, 9. hearing mounted on each of said supporting plates, a rotatable shaft resting in bearings on the upper flight of said conveyor chains, means carried by said car for rotating said shaft, said means being connected to one end of said shaft, and a plurality of circular brushes spaced along the length of said shaft to rotate therewith, movement of said conveyor chains projecting or retracting said shaft for inserting or withdrawing said brushes from the interior of a tube, and rotation of said shaft rotating said brushes for spreading a coating in the interior of the tube.

8. Apparatus for coating the interior surfaces of tubes and the like comprising supporting means, a pair of guideways mounted in parallel relation on said supporting means, a horizontal trackway beneath said guideways, a sprocket wheel rotatably mounted on the support post at the forward end of each of said guideways, a sheave wheel rotatably mounted on said supporting means at the rearward end of each of the guideways, a car mounted for travel on said trackway, a link conveyor chain mounted for travel on each guideway, the links on the forward ends of the conveyor chains being strung around the sprocket wheels, the rearward ends of said conveyor chains being connected to the forward end of said car, a cable attached at its one end to the forward end of each of said conveyor chains, each cable being strung around the respective sheave wheel and attached at its other end to the rearward end of said car, reversible means for driving said sheave wheels to actuate said cables and said conveyor chains, a plurality of aligned supporting plates attached to and extending transversely between selected pairs of laterally opposite links of said conveyor chains, a bearing block having an open-end notch in its top surface mounted on each of said supporting plates, a rotatable shaft resting in the notches in the bearing blocks, means carried by said car for rotating the shaft, said means being connected to one end of the shaft, and a plurality of circular brushes spaced along the length of said shaft to rotat therewith, movement of said conveyor chains projecting or retracting said shaft for inserting or withdrawing said brushes from the interior of a tube, and rotation of said shaft rotating said brushes for spreading a coating in the interior of a tube.

FRANK A. BOWEN.

No references cited. 

